International Space Station

Bishop Airlock

Nanoracks' Bishop Airlock, was launched on SpaceX's 21st cargo resupply (CRS-31) mission. It was installed on Node 3 on December 21, 2020. The airlock is a passageway that allows projects, research, satellites, tools, and more to move in and out of the ISS. It can be operated in pressurized or unpressurized mode. Bishop Airlock is a commercially-owned and operated "door" that allows 5 times the payload volume to pass through than was previously available on the JEM Airlock on Kibō module developed by JAXA. It is the the first commercial airlock ever installed on a space station.

Bishop is named after the bishop chess piece that moves diagonally across the chessboard. Now astronauts will be able to open a hatch inside the station to store items in the airlock. When they are ready to be released and the inner hatch is sealed. The ISS robotic arm, Canadarm2 will be operated from NASA's mission control to remove the outer airlock and deploy the payloads. When the item is removed the outer airlock hatch will be reattached to the station. Customers will pay Nanoracks when they use the airlock.

Nanoracks has deployed small CubeSats into orbit from the ISS through the Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer via the airlock in the Japanese Kibō module. The expertise gained from launching those small satellites will be applied to the Bishop airlock.

Nanoracks has assisted educators and commercial organizations access to space by supplying research boxes (small racks) to contain scientific experiments and small satellites and integrating them into the station's hardware. Nanoracks partnered with Boeing who fabricated and installed the Airlock's Passive Common Berthing Mechanism (PCBM) that is used to connect many of the pressurized modules to the ISS. The PCBM hardware was manufactured at the Boeing facilities in Huntsville, AL. The shell of the Bishop Airlock was built by Thales Alenia Space who also built the Tranquility Node where the airlock was attached.

As Bishop Airlock is privately-funded service, it is helping NASA to achieve the agency's goal of providing services for commercial customers in low-Earth orbit market instead of just government agencies. NASA, ESA, and a Japanese robotics company, GITAI, are among the first users of the Bishop airlock.

- - Learn more about Nanoracks on Astra's Commercial Space Development page.

New Solar Arrays provide more Power

The SpectroLabs has developed an advanced solar power technology, their XTJ Prime solar cells that will be installed on the ISS. SpectroLabs is a Boeing company based in Sylmar, CA that produced the iROSA arrays. These solar arrays are some of the most powerful ever sent into space. They are the same solar cells that power Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft while in flight or when it is docked to the ISS. SpectroLabs also produced the station’s original solar cells, as well as the solar cells tested on the prototype. For ISS these solar panels are called ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA).

The 6 new arrays are 63-ft. by 20-ft. Together the arrays will produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the sun. The advanced solar cells will provide 20 to 30 percent more power than the arrays that have served the ISS over 20 years. Solar arrays provide the ISS power for its systems, equipment, and laboratories that conduct research in the microgravity environment.

During June 2021, spacewalks by NASA astronaut, Shane Kimbrough, and ESA’s astronaut, Thomas Pesquet, added two iROSA new arrays to the ISS. These arrays were installed on the far end of the left (port) side of the station’s truss structure.

On September 15, 2022, NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio completed a spacewalk to add mounting supports on the ISS for the next set of iROSA solar arrays to be installed on the space station. The second pair of solar arrays was delivered to the ISS on the Cargo Dragon2 (CRS-26) on November 27, 2022. Cassada and Rubio began work on the arrays during two space walks ending on December 22, 2022. NASA astronaut, Nicole Mann, and JAXA astronaut, Koichi Wakata, finished the installation on January 20, 2023.

Cargo Dragon CRS-28 carried the last pair of iROSAs solar arrays to the ISS on June 5, 2023. The arrays will be removed from the Dragon using the station's robotic arm. They new arrays will be installed by NASA astronauts during two spacewalks. Once operational, the full complement of iROSAs will be operating on orbit.

NASA flight engineers, Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg successfully installed the new solar array on the space station during two EVAs on June 9 and June 15, 2023. This completes the upgrade for the station's solar planels. An additional pair of iROSAs are planned to be added to ISS in 2025 that will further increase the ISS power supply, bringing the total of iROSA arrays on International Space Station to eight.

Russian Nauka ISS Module

The Russian Nauka module was launched on July 21, 2021 after many years of delays. Because it was to be placed on the ISS on the port that was occupied by the Pirs Docking Compartment, the Pirs module had to be removed before Nauka could launch. Pirs was removed on July 23, 2021 and disintegrated in Earth's atomosphere over the South Pacific after 20 years of service. Using the CanadArm to inspect the port, it was determined that no additional measures were needed to dock the new module.

After a successful launch on a Proton-M rocket, the Nauka module had some engine problems causing many propulsive manuevers, using up more fuel than expected. It was able to dock safely with the station, using up most of its remaining fuel. The problems may have been caused by software issues.

Problems with Nauka docking did not stop there. Thrusters on the module began to fire and spin the ISS by 1/2 a degree per second. Before the engines could be stopped, the ISS rotated one and a half times or 540 degrees. This motion was stopped and corrected by firing thrusters on the Zvezda service module and the Progress MS-17 vehicle. Although communication with the station was lost twice for several minutes each time, the crew onboard was not in danger.

The Nauka module was first constructed as a backup to the Zarya module currently on ISS. The design used for Nauka and Zarya is called the Functional Cargo Block (FCB). The FCB was designed as a service and storage module. It featured a spacious pressurized volume in its center, meant for cargo storage and docking equipment. On the outside of the FCB were fuel tanks, maneuvering engines, solar arrays, and docking port.

The Nauka contains water and air purification systems, a new galley, and a toilet. Nauka is Russian for "Science" and after it was fitted to the ISS, Nauka became the primary laboratory module on the Russian segment. It is also known as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM). Nauka is attached to ISS at Zvezda nadir, an Earth-facing docking. Because of this position, the ISS was rotated to allow the module to dock.

Unfortunately, these problems set back the launch of the Boeing Starliner human crew spacecraft final uncrewed demnostration mission. Because other issues also arose, the launch is now scheduled TBD.

Roscosmos Media released a video showing the Nauka module dock being opened by cosmonauts on ISS. Find it here on youTube.

Pirs was launched in 2001. It served as a docking port for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. It had two airlocks for astronauts to enter and exit the ISS for EVA's or spacewalks. Before Nauka was attached to the ISS the PIRS module had to be removed. Progress space craft carried cargo to the ISS and attach to the PIRS. The PIRS module was be unlatched from Zvezda and both the Progress and PIRS eased away from the station powered by the Progress vehicle. The Progress deorbiedt with Pirs and made a destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Pirs was the first module of the Station to be permanently removed.

Roscosmos plans to build a new space station in Earth orbit called the Russian Orbital Station, or ROS. Like the commercial station discussed below, The ROS will eventually splinter away from the current International Space Station that will eventually be retired. (That date is 2030 today.) It is planned that the Nauka module will be the heart of the new station.

Russian Prichal ISS Module

On November 24, 2021, Roscosmos launched the Prichal module that was connected to the ISS a few days later. Prichal or "Uzlovoi Modul"(UM) or Node Module in English. Prichal is a component that can allow up to six other modules to connect to the new station. Other modules to be attached could be crew ships, cargo haulers, tankers, or other structural elements. This module may also be used as the permanent core of the future ROS station. In that case, all other modules could be added or removed as they age or due to mission updates.

The module is connected to the nadir or Earth-facing section of the ISS. It should provide docking for up to 5 vehicles at the same time.